Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Scenes from Thanksgivings past

Setting: 23 years ago, at the Mister’s parents.
Cast: The Mister & me, bitchy drama queen SIL and her Danish BF and his cute, blond, Danish au pair girl and the Mister’s parents.
Scene: BF and au pair are in the living room speaking Danish together. The Mister and his dad are also in the living room where he is listening to his dad lecture about economics (zzzzzz). SIL and MIL and I are in the kitchen drinking Manhattans. The SIL is staring out the kitchen window, big fat lugubrious tears streaming slowly down her face. SIL is so jealous of BF and au pair that she cannot stand it.

Setting: 16 years ago, at home.
Cast: The Mister and me, and a 4 day old Em.
Scene: Em is wrapped in a little quilt sleeping on the couch. The Mister and i are still in the Oh-My-God-there’s-a-tiny-person here-and-now-what-do-we-do stage. We had made no plans for the day. The Mister went to the grocery store that morning and bought a turkey breast and some more already prepared food. We spent the day alone, alternately eating and staring at the tiny person we had created in awe and fear.

Setting: Two years ago, at our house.
Cast: My entire family; mom, dad, 2 brothers and wives, 3 nephews, 2 nieces, and the three of us.
Scene: In an effort to make my dad feel like the family patriarch, i asked him to carve the turkey. He managed to cut himself with the razor-sharp carving knife and bleed all over the bird. I had to wrestle the knife away from him and send him off for triage. My SIL got into a fit of giggles over this saying “No good deed goes unpunished.”

I wonder what this year will bring.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating that day tomorrow, and to the rest of you, have a great Thursday.

20 comments:

Girlplustwo said...

it's amazing how much history can be wrapped up in a single day.

men, blessings your way. thanks for being an inspiration and a source of light.

Lynnea said...

Thanksgiving just has this way of making drama, good or bad, doesn't it? I love the second scene, we had a similar thanksgiving last year when the twins were almost one. We were home just us five and watching the pair of terrors walking like little frankensteins. Not a lot of bad drama there.

So I gotta ask, is the SIL still with Danish BF? Still a drama queen? And please give us this year's scene when you can.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Antonia Cornwell said...

SO did the BF and au pair run away together??

My eighty-something step-grandmother left my grandfather for the thirty-something female home help, but that's another post.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Meno.

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving!
This makes me think of the Christmas my brother gave my dog a pigs ear. I didn't want her to have the whole thing & get the runs, so I asked my Dad to cut it. He got out the cleaver and chopped off his own finger.

Anonymous said...

life is never dull in your fam, is it? you definitely have the materials with which to make a great holiday movie, or funny dysfunctional family novel.

happy thanksgiving!

Bob said...

I am impressed by anyone who uses lugubrious.

I too want to know what happened with the danish bf and au pair. That is a recipe for relationship disaster in any romance novel worth its salt.

was the bled-on turkey eaten, or chucked?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

meno said...

jen, and blessings and good thoughts back to you. I have loved and learned from reading your insights, and hope to continue doing so for a long time.

maggie, the story of the SIL is not to be believed. No, she is not with him, but he did become her 2nd husband. We haven't seen or spoken with her in over 10 years. From the MIL we know that she is now w/husband #4, who is 20 years her junior. I predict more marriages. I am grateful that she has never reproduced.

antonia, see answer to maggie. That T-Day did end in a huge hideous fight between SIL and BF though. Ah, family! And do that post soon, i think i just read that your step-grandmother ran away with a woman.

de, he chopped off his finger?!! I cringed when i read that. Did it get sewn back on?

holly, you know what? My family is actually pretty normal, compared to many. But the Mister's family put the dys in dysfunctional.

bob, we aim to please her at Menos. :) See answer to maggie for SIL and BF answer. The bled on Turkey was wiped off and eaten. What's a little more blood between family members?

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving! I love the scenes.

Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year. Last year's was ruined by my drama queen SIL (why is it always them and not us? ;-) ) But this year will be the best. Just friends this year, no in-laws.

Happy happy day for you and yours.

QT said...

I love the family dramas. Everyone has such a great story to tell about holiday gatherings.

Happy Thanksgiving, Meno!

Is your name from a Socratic dialogue?

Andrea Frazer said...

I came home from my in-laws three years ago, after asking to switch Thanksgiving from their house on Thursday to Friday night so I could spend Thursday with my family (dad in hospital). They are pretty traditional and couldn't do Thanksgiving on a Friday, even though my parents did it for years to accomodate everyone. Anyway, on the way home, I got the call that my dad died. Hope this year fairs better.

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving Meno. I know I am grateful I stumbled upon your site a couple of weeks ago. Lord knows why but your mind has a way of penetrating the many crazy layers of my psyche(Big brain=Big mind DUH!) . You are a wonder. Imagine if I had you at arms length. I'd be testng that introvertedness for all it's worth....( What with all that hugging Ha! )Have a good one you guys : The Mister, Em ,Meno,and the rest of the clan... Gros becs ( Big kisses).

sari said...

I'd love to be sitting somewhere in a corner, watching your family.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Dick said...

Do you think this year's event will be as dramatic as those from your past?

I will be going with Pat to her daughter's home where we will have dinner with 18 others. I think I am to be sort of on display to family and friends so will have to be on my best behavior. I did get a haircut today and won't wear jeans.

Anonymous said...

Good old Turkey day, christened with a little bit of blood and a whole lot of drama. It's a lot easier to be in good humor reading about someone else's drama, than it is to experience it first hand. Happy Thanksgiving. I hope this year doesn't involve triage.

BTW you should have included the cast of characters for Thursday so that we could predict the outcome; )

meno said...

nancy, so you have a drama queen SIL also. Ain't that grand. This years sounds like heaven. Enjoy.

qt, family drama is the reason for Thanksgining i think. Thank you and yes, i did steal the name from a Socratic dialouge on the nature of virtue.

hi mamap! That's a sad story. I've never understood that kind of ridgidity. I m sorry about your father. Hope this year is better too.

caro, thank you. I may be an untrovert, but that doesn't mean i'm shy. I'm cool with hugs!

sari, is it really all that different from any other family? This year should be fairly tame, (she said hopefully.)

dick, oh have fun! I bet you dress up nicely. I'm so glad that you are having fun w/pat.

d-man, probably not, but i'm taking my camera in case! Thank you.

mombat, you speak the truth.

patches, As Mad Magazine used to say, it will be the usual gang of idiots. I think it will be fairly normal, my SIL (no, not that one) is very organized and will be on top of everything.

Tracy Helgeson said...

Ahhh, Meno, so you understand my Thanksgivings past! I always thought everyone but me was having perfect holidays, it always seemed that way to me. I am not sure if I feel better or worse now knowing that that isn't true.

Mother of Invention said...

You just have to write a book or at least a short story collection of all these episodes you share with us. I have had a dull and uneventful life in comparison. Good to get a broader perspwective by reading other people's blogs and the comments. Thanks for being so open and blogger friendly..and have a great T-Day!

urban-urchin said...

Happy T Day Meno.

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving! Here in Boston my friends made a meal using just Colonial American recipes, with one from Martha Stewart thrown in.

meno said...

tracy, thank you. :) I couldn't even imagine writing a book, because then i'd have to sell it. Sound familiar?

u-u, thank you honey! You too.

rhea, welcome, and that sounds really good. Although some of the recipes from that era are none too specific.